Britain's 30 most deprived areas where parents cannot afford to feed kids - list

23 October 2023 , 23:01

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London had the highest destitution levels in 2022, followed by the North East and North West (Image: PA)

More than a million children are living in “horrifying levels of destitution” that mean their parents cannot afford to keep them warm, dry, clean and fed, it has been warned.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said the number of kids in extreme poverty had almost tripled in five years with many struggling to get the food they need. Across all age groups, around 3.8million people experienced destitution in 2022, the charity said. The number of children was 1.04 million, up from 362,000 in 2017.

Six in 10 people in destitution said they did not have enough food, with many also saying they could not afford the heating. The JRF said the increasing cost of basic essentials and the high levels of debt that many families now face had contributed to the rapid rise.

London had the highest destitution levels in 2022, followed by the North East and North West, and then the West Midlands, with the lowest rates in the southern English regions, the report said.

Paul Kissack, JRF chief executive, said: "Such severe hardship should have no place in the UK today - and the British public will not stand for destitution on this scale. The Government is not helpless to act: it is choosing not to. Turning the tide on destitution is an urgent moral mission, which speaks to our basic humanity as a country, and we need political leadership for that mission. That is why we are calling for clear proposals from all political parties to address this challenge with the urgency it demands."

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Imran Hussain of Action for Children said the figures are "a disgrace that should shame us all". Former children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield warned there must be an "urgent laser-like focus from within government to tackle child poverty so that we can consign childhood destitution to the history books and Dickensian novels where it belongs".

Joseph Howes, CEO of Buttle UK, said: “It is time for bold action. A child poverty strategy is needed to support in the longer term, and we urge the government to introduce an Essentials Guarantee, ensuring benefits always cover the basic essentials.”

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “It is a damning indictment of this Conservative government that a million children experienced destitution in the last year. The Tories crashed the economy, unleashing a cost of living crisis with a society that now has more food banks than police stations. Labour has a plan to grow the economy to put money back into people's pockets, make work pay, and deliver a bold, new cross-government child poverty strategy.”

A UK Government spokesman said: “Our number one priority is driving down inflation because that will help everyone’s money go further. There are 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty than in 2010, including 400,000 fewer children, but we know some families are struggling, which is why we are providing support worth an average of £3,300 per household, including raising benefits by over 10% this year, and are increasing the National Living Wage again."

'My son got pneumonia from the mildew coming out of the walls'

A woman aged between 25-45 told researchers she survives on one meal per day. "We make sure my daughter is eating," she said. "She has three meals a day, but me and my partner, we're lucky if we have a meal a day". Another woman shared a similar experience, saying: "Well, most days, I have one meal a day... I mean, if [daughter] was at home and not at school and I ate three meals a day too, it would be too expensive. So I mostly have one meal a day. I might get a banana or something in the daytime".

Others told the researchers they had cut back on essentials or had to choose between heating and eating. One man over the age of 45 said: “Quite a few times [we’ve run out of money for gas and electric] ... We invested in fleecy blankets to keep warm [over winter] ... It was quite literally between, as I said, between heating and eating ... I would prioritise my daughter to eat, and I would go without, and I would probably boost the heating for about an hour or two and then turn it off.”

One woman said she didn't buy washing powder for two weeks while others said they never bought clothes or walked everywhere to avoid travel costs altogether. A woman between the age of 25 and 45 also detailed the toll of poor-quality housing on her family. She said: "The mildew kept coming out in the walls itself and in the corners; it was getting all wet. I thought this is not right ... My oldest boy had a touch of pneumonia just before Christmas on his lungs. So I knew that was down to the damp in the house, because my children are healthy ... They get the odd runny nose now and again; but I know obviously it’s to do with the house. The problem is I just wish to God it was sorted, to be honest with you.” What do you think? Let us know in the comments.